A client with depression is found to have attempted suicide in the bathroom and sustained injury. There is no documentation that the client was assessed every hour as prescribed. Which issue will the nursing staff and hospital potentially have to defend against?

Malpractice refers to a legal claim that can be made against healthcare professionals including nurses and hospitals when they fail to provide the standard of care expected in their profession resulting in harm or injury to a patient. In this case the lack of documentation that the client was assessed every hour as prescribed can be seen as a failure to meet the standard of care for a client with depression at risk for self-harm. This failure may have contributed to the client's suicide attempt constituting malpractice. Battery false imprisonment and assault do not apply as there was no intentional contact restraint or threat.